Rocky Top Spotlight: Charisma Taylor

A graduate student from Nassau, Bahamas, Charisma Taylor is midway through her second season as a Lady Vol. However, in her journey from Washington State University to Rocky Top, all five seasons of Taylor's collegiate career have been increasingly impressive—making her mark throughout the many races, hurdles and jumps along the way.

Before heading to Tennessee, Taylor spent her first three collegiate seasons in Pullman, Washington, competing at an elite level for WSU. As a Cougar, Taylor frequented the podium from 2019-21.

Making her collegiate debut at the Bronco Invite on Jan. 12, 2019, she claimed gold in both the 200m and the long jump which would be just the start of her freshman successes. Taylor went on to record eight event victories throughout the 2019 track & field season, including a school-record performance in the triple jump with her mark of 12.96m (42-6.25) at the New Mexico Team Invitational on Jan. 26. She capped off her freshman year with a 12.62 (41-5) triple jump for sixth place at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships before placing 26th at the 2019 NCAA West Prelims.

This was just the beginning of Taylor's tear with the Cougars. With one year of experience under her belt, she won her first conference title in the triple jump at the 2020 MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships—leaping a top-distance of 13.29m (43-7.25) as a sophomore. She qualified for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in the triple jump before the meet's cancellation due to the pandemic, and was later tabbed an All-American by the USTFCCCA that spring.

Taylor's third and final season at WSU featured a First Team All-America performance at the 2021 NCAA indoor meet, posting a personal-best 13.61m (44-8) mark for fifth place in the triple jump national championship. She earned a bronze medal in the same event at the outdoor Pac-12 Championships before qualifying for outdoor nationals with a lifetime-best 13.63m (44-8.75) at the NCAA West Prelims.

Taylor took a "leap" of faith with the Lady Vols, transferring to UT in the summer of 2021 and continuing to prove herself to be one of the top competitors in her field.

It took Taylor no time to get adjusted, certainly not on the track. In her first meet representing the Big Orange, Charisma Taylor reached a new personal-best in the 60-meter hurdles with a strong 8.11 finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Just a day later she recorded another PR in the long jump, recording a distance of 6.25m (20-6.25). She would triumph this record two more times, ultimately jumping 6.45m (21-2) for a PR and the third-best performance in school history at the Tyson Invitational in Feb. 2022.

Going above and beyond in every sense, Taylor brought back some hardware from the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships, claiming the silver medal and breaking her own school record in the 60m hurdles with a lightning-fast 7.93 finish. However, Taylor wasn't done there, scooping up the bronze in the women's triple jump as well, making it 13.74m (45-1) into the sand pit.

One of two athletes to compete in three individual events at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships, Taylor claimed All-America status in the 60-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump at her first national meet as a Lady Vol. Her 13.96m (45-9.75) performance in the triple jump was good enough for a school record and third place overall, marking the highest placement in the event at NCAAs in program history. Taylor went on to punch her ticket to outdoor nationals in the triple jump, but was unable to compete due to injury.

Taylor has continued to move the needle forward this season, ranking top-10 in the country in her three signature indoor events. Most recently, she broke the 14-meter barrier in the triple jump at the Tiger Paw Invite on Feb. 11, leaping a lifetime-best 14.04m (46-0.75) to improve her own school record and rank as the No. 16 all-time performer in collegiate indoor history.

With her final SEC Indoor Championships coming up next week week, Taylor will look to add more hardware and continue cementing her legacy within the Lady Vol track & field program.

The University of Tennessee campus has witnessed incredible athletic success throughout the years, with student-athletes walking the hallowed grounds while garnering titles like Olympian, National Champion or Player of the Year. An exclusive group etched their names within the history of their respective sport and went on to become hall of famers. Vols and Lady Vols through the ages consistently ascend to the pinnacle of competition, and the current student-athletes are no exception. Rocky Top Spotlight is an effort to shine a big orange light on the many elite competitors at Tennessee.

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Yaseen Abdalla (Men's Track & Field/XC)

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